More from Paul Thurrot today, as he reviews the N editions of Windows: "If you're wondering what the XP N Editions are like, wonder no more. I got my hands on both XP Home N and XP Pro N this week and gave them both a spin. The results were pretty uneventful. I can't recommend the XP N Editions per se, but I can report that you shouldn't be afraid of using these products at all. They're not crippled or broken in any way I can see."

I havn't mentioned anything about a government choosing for me. My point was like this if you walk in to a local electrical shop you have a choice of vcr's, TV's Fridges, Freezers etc. You have a choice of what features you want /don't want in any of those applicances. The same should be for Operating systems and things that are bolted on.. if you don't want IE, don't have it. If your granmother or whoever is not sure, why can't you tell her the pro's /cons of each available browser, mediaplayer or whatever? would that be too much hardship? let her /him make the decision. nobody tells you what make of car to drive or what wall paper to have or which brand of TV to buy. It should be your choice

My point was like this if you walk in to a local electrical shop you have a choice of vcr's, TV's Fridges, Freezers etc. You have a choice of what features you want /don't want in any of those applicances.

Not in any stores I've seen. When I buy I Phillips TV, I get a Phillips remote. I can't choose a Samsung remote. Maybe Phillips chooses to offer different models with Picture-In-Picture or component inputs or whatever, but I only have a choice between what they choose to offer me. I can't pick and choose elements as if it were a salad bar.

There are market limitatons .
To use the car analogy you mentioned, if I buy a new Ford, I am limited to what brand of stereo the vendor will install. And retro fitting a new one can be a hassle.
But the choice IS there, and most cars are built to interact with the "standard" car stereo design.
If Ford had 90% of the car market, this is not neccesarily a problem. If they ONLY sold their cars with Ford Car stereos then there is a case for a monopolies investigation.

(As an aside - I drive a MCC Smart, which has a custom dashboard. Most car stereos would look awful in it but the factory-fitted Grundig is moulded to fit. They did offer a limited choice, but only one model in each category: Just radio, you get Grundig Basic. Radio and CD, you get Grundig CD. 12-disk changer, Pioneer Advanced. (made up names).)